Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Shire CFO Graham Hetherington to step down on March 1stShire CFO Graham Hetherington notified the board of his decision to step down. The board has agreed that Graham will step down on March 1. Shire's Group Financial Controller, James Bowling, will be appointed as interim Shire CFO with effect from that date. Shire will start immediately a global search for Graham's successor.

Stocks have another winning week after Greek deal, Yellen reassuranceStocks ended higher this week after the euro zone sealed its deal to extend Greece's bailout and Fed chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank would take a patient approach to raising interest rates. MACRO NEWS: Last Friday afternoon, Greece reached a framework deal with its euro zone partners to extend its bailout by four months, contingent on a reform proposal being accepted. The proposals were accepted by the EU early this week... In testimony before Congress, Janet Yellen reiterated that the Federal Reserve can remain patient in deciding when to hike interest rates... U.S. economic data was mixed, as the Q4 GDP growth revision, durable goods orders for January, and an index of consumer sentiment beat expectations, but weekly jobless claims and existing home sales for January missed expectations... Somewhat positive economic data came out of China, as the flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index was 50.1, representing a four month high. However, China's export orders declined at the fastest rate in 20 months. COMPANY NEWS: Drug maker Valeant (VRX) agreed to buy Salix (SLXP), which develops gastrointestinal products, for $158 per share. In another development on the M&A front, Bloomberg reported that HP (HPQ) is in talks to make its biggest acquisition in several years by potentially acquiring Aruba Networks (ARUN), which provides Wi-Fi products. Additionally, PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) rose after Reuters said the company is working with financial advisers to explore a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from several companies including Shire (SHPG) and BioMarin (BMRN)... Solar energy company SunPower (SPWR) was one of this week's big winners after its quarterly results topped expectations, and the company announced that it's in advanced talks to form a joint YieldCo vehicle with peer First Solar (FSLR). First Solar also rallied after the news... Among the noteworthy losers this week was Lumber Liquidators (LL), after the company reported Q4 earnings per share and revenue that missed consensus expectations. The flooring retailer also warned on its associated call that an upcoming "60 Minutes" piece may cast the company in an unfavorable light and disclosed in its annual report that the Department of Justice indicated in recent communications that it is contemplating seeking criminal charges under the Lacey Act... Companies that rose after reporting their quarterly results included Home Depot (HD) and Gap (GPS), while HP, TASER (TASR), and J.C. Penney (JCP) dropped after reporting their results. INDEXES: For the week, the Dow was down 0.04% to 18,132.70, the Nasdaq was up 0.15% to 4,963.53, and the S&P 500 was down 0.27% to 2,104.50.

PTC Therapeutics takeout price likely tops $100/share, said Credit SuisseCredit Suisse yesterday raised its price target for PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) shares to $100 from $66 after Reuters reported the drug market is starting a sale process with Shire (SHPG) and Biomarin (BMRN) as possible suitors. The firm believes a takeout is a likely outcome before or after data the Phase III data expected to be announced in October. PTC has Translarna Phase III trials ongoing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis to support full approval in the U.S. Credit Suisse said yesterday in a note to investors that a takeout value for the company likely exceeds $100 per share. It believes PTC would be a good fit for Vertex (VRTX), Biogen (BIIB), Roche (RHHBY) and others. The firm kept an Outperform rating on the stock. PTC Therapeutics shares closed yesterday up $6.20 to $71.16.

On The Fly: Closing WrapStocks on Wall Street began the session in negative territory and remained there for most of the session, with the Nasdaq the lone index to post a small gain. The Dow was weighed down by shares of Boeing (BA), which slid after the stock received a downgrade. There was little in the way of positive economic news, as the most notable report showed existing homes were lower than expected due to a shortage of inventory. The averages drifted for most of the session, as investors may be waiting on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s banking panel testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago Fed national activity index rebounded to 0.13 in January, which was nearly in-line with expectations. Existing home sales dropped 4.9% to a 4.82M rate in January, which was much worse than the expected 1.8% drop to a 4.95M unit rate. In Europe, the Ifo Institute’s measure of German business confidence rose to 106.8 in February, which was up a tenth of a percentage point from the previous month but below the 107.7 consensus forecast. Also, the Bank of Israel became the latest central bank to cut rates this year, lowering its main interest rate to 0.1% from 0.25%. COMPANY NEWS: The shares of a number of health insurers rose after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, issued preliminary 2016 Medicare Advantage rates. According to Credit Suisse, the rates were favorable for the insurers. Following the CMS announcement made late Friday, Humana (HUM) climbed $8.40, or 5.38%, to $164.52, UnitedHealth (UNH) rose $3.78, or 3.36%, to $116.40, and WellCare (WCG) gained $4.68, or 5.53%, to $89.30. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), which jumped $9.77, or 17.7%, to $64.96 after Reuters said the company is working with financial advisers to explore a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from several companies including Shire (SHPG) and BioMarin (BMRN). Also higher was Valeant (VRX), which rose $25.49, or 14.71%, to $198.75 after the company agreed to buy Salix (SLXP) for $158 per share and also reported better-than-forecast earnings. Salix shares, however, fell $2.09, or 1.32%, to $155.76, as a report Friday from CNBC's David Faber telegraphed the deal and suggested Valeant could value Salix around $160 per share. Among the noteworthy losers was Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI), which dropped $1.18, or 15.82%, to $6.28 after a judge ruled that a drug which could compete with the company's Fusilev treatment does not infringe on the company's intellectual property. Also lower were shares of Boeing, which fell $3.57, or 2.26%, to $154.74 after the stock was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. INDEXES: The Dow fell 23.60, or 0.13%, to 18,116.84, the Nasdaq gained 5.01, or 0.1%, to 4,960.97, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.64, or 0.03%, to 2,109.66.

Jefferies says other bidders may emerge for SalixJefferies says it could envision other bidders emerging for Salix (SLXP) and points out recent media reports have suggested Shire (SHPG) and Endo (ENDP) have considered making a bid for the company. It lists AstraZeneca (AZN) and Takeda as others who could have possible interest in Salix. The firm believes Valeant (VRX) could afford to pay more for Salix should other bidders emerge.

Shire completes acquisition of NPS Pharma Shire (SHPG) announces the successful completion of the tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP) and the subsequent acquisition of NPS Pharma.The tender offer expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of Friday, February 20, and was not extended. As of the expiration of the tender offer, a total of approximately 88,869,118 common shares of NPS Pharma had been validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, representing approximately 81.7% of the outstanding common shares of NPS Pharma. All shares that were validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer were accepted for payment. After the acceptance of shares that were validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the tender offer, Shire completed the acquisition of NPS Pharma today through a merger of one of Shire's subsidiaries with and into NPS Pharma. In connection with the merger, all common shares of NPS Pharma that were not accepted for payment in the tender offer (excluding any shares held by NPS Pharma as treasury stock (other than any shares held in an NPS Pharma benefit plan) and any shares with respect to which the holders have properly demanded appraisal rights in accordance with Delaware law) were converted into the right to receive $46.00 per share in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes, the same price that will be paid for shares accepted for payment in the tender offer. Following completion of the merger, NPS Pharma became a wholly owned subsidiary of Shire and NPS Pharma's shares ceased to be traded on NASDAQ.

Shire multiple poised to expand, says SunTrustSunTrust believes that Shire's rare disease unit will account for 40% of its 2020 sales, versus the company's estimate of about 35%. As a result, the firm expects the company's multiple to "re-rate." The firm thinks that the company's long-term growth outlook is underappreciated, and it keeps a $262 price target and Buy rating on the shares.